Monthly Archives: November 2013

Back in the day, I didn’t like GTs. I didn’t like Triple Triangle, or the LTS and STS bikes, and I really didn’t like the i-Drive bikes.

I can’t say I have a really good reason for that feeling though.

Now though, I’ve completely Flip-Flopped (see what I did there?) and I’d be happy to get my hands on a good GT, like this;

Actually, I did have my hands on this one. This is a 1991 Tequesta that a good friend of mine bought just a couple of months after I bought my first real bike. He rode it a lot, and eventually sold it to a friend.

About four years ago he bought it back, and turned it over to me. I was lucky enough to find a period-correct donor bike for parts, and then with a few new parts, he had himself a like-new, old bike.

I’m going to get him to bring it over next summer so I can take some proper pictures, and then we’ll go for a retro ride with my old Bridgestone.

If I was lucky enough, I’d love to find one of these;

The Cyclone – or Psyclone – was a high-end steel frame, not sure if all of them were fillet brazed, but some were, that sat at the top of their line along with the Zaskar and Xizang Ti.

I’ve never seen one in person, so I suspect they are very rare.

The Zaskars are far more common, and GTs in general are right up there on the Mt. Rushmore of VRC bikes.

In the UK, one of the more popular VRC brands is Orange. You’re forgiven if you’ve never heard of them as I don’t think they were ever sold here.

From browsing retrobike.co.uk I’ve learned that the Prestige is one of the more popular models;

As you can see, when they’re done right, they’re gorgeous.

But when they’re done wrong;

I get the poverty thing. I’ve done it. I once put together a bike using a frame I had, and all the parts either came from whatever leftovers I had, and any not quite worn out parts I scavenged from repairs at the shop.

I ended up with a usable single speed, but of course you have to put up with a lot of Zen and The Art of Bicycle Maintenance type crap. Like this;

Zen and The Art of Bicycle Maintenance doesn’t exist by the way. I guess I’ll have to write it…

Judging from the forum post, the builder has intentionally gone with those stupidly narrow bars. That’s left him with no room to install the front shifter, which is actually handling rear shifting duties. Also, cantilever brake levers running V-brakes – which I can tell you, doesn’t work that well.

There are also mis-matched wheels, four out of a possible five chainring bolts, and a frame in desperate need of a respray.

I’ve built some pretty sketchy rides in my time, but not anymore. Or not to the same degree anyway. When I was Redbike, Cliff told me that he too used to do the poverty thing, but it’s just too much work. Too much effort to keep these kinds of bikes running. And you can’t ever sell them, unless you find a buyer that will understand the known issues, and is willing to deal with them.

He decided that he wanted “flawless.” And after a lot of years building bikes like this, that’s what I want as well.

Pro-Flex was one of the first companies to offer a rear suspension bike. You couldn’t really call them full suspension – at least not the early ones – because they only had a flex stem up front.

Suspending the bike is different than suspending the bike.

Anyway;

This is a 1991 550 utilizing an elastomer “shock” in the rear end, and a Girvin Flex Stem in the front.

There’s nothing particularly special about this bike, but when I saw it, it reminded me that I used to see a woman riding around town on slightly newer Pro Flex. It’s kinda funny to see bikes that were made with serious off-roading in mind log heavy miles as commuters and grocery getters. And I always liked the look of these early bikes

They’re pretty popular amongst the VRC crowd, I think because of their pioneering of suspension, and for the attention grabbing looks of the later models with Girvin/Noleen Cross Link fork.

They were eventually bought out by K2 – makers of skis – and still exist, but just as very plain, inexpensive bikes. Whatever innovation that existed in the Pro-Flex/Girvin/Noleen days is long gone.

It’s time for me to clear out the garage as I have a bunch of projects that I want to sort out, and no money to do that with. So I’ve gathered up all the newest and shiniest gear I have, and before it goes on eBay, I thought I’d display it here.

I really like this bike – it just rolls over everything – but given the type of riding I do, when I ask myself if I’d rather have this, or my 20th Anniversary Blizzard running, and my Dekerf built up, and maybe some other vintage machine, the answer is clear.

I would entertain trades on this bike for an older, XTR equipped 26er. Don’t care about the brand, or if it’s suspended or hardtail, I’m looking for parts here.

2. Single speed wheelset; front is a silver Chris King disc hub, black spokes, and silver Mavic 717 rims. The rear is a polished White Industries ENO eccentric single speed hub, black spoke and 717 rim. It’s the older style ENO with a thread on freewheel mount. This wheelset can be used with either disc or rim brakes, and I have the eccentric mount adapter for it too. I might also have road spaced dropouts too.

I would entertain offers to part this wheelset out, but, if I did, I’d be keeping the rims, because a good rim brake compatible rim is becoming hard to find. And I would also be interested in trades for a good rim compatible geared wheelset. Like an old Crossmax for instance.

3. Vicious Cycles steel fork. Black, disc-only, meant for a 26″ wheel, but I think it’s tall enough that it’ll work on 27.5″ as well. It would probably also work on a disc-only CX bike. I have put a 700c wheel in it, but there’s no clearance with a 29er tire.

4. Frames! Small Norco Bush Pilot with fork and Campagnolo headset. That’s right, Campagnolo on an entry-level mountain bike. That is how it’s done. Large and extra-large Fisher Marlin frames circa 1998, rim brake only, both of which I’ll probably repaint before I sell, but let me know if you’re interested, you can pick the colour maybe? GT Zaskar LE, size 20.5, possibly broken. If you want this, it’s yours. It’s not pretty, but it was great before I maybe broke it when it was on the roof of my car.